


Friday Night

by holdouttrout



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-07
Updated: 2008-08-07
Packaged: 2017-11-15 20:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdouttrout/pseuds/holdouttrout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shoes, the workshop, and Pizza Hut.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friday Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [splash_the_cat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/splash_the_cat/gifts).



The thing was, Pepper really _was_ sort of proud of Tony, although she could have done without the suit, the occasional terror of Tony being _in_ the suit, the endless meetings with people _about_ Tony in the suit, and the reporters.

She had been used to reporters, but mostly they could be ignored, or prepared for. She used to get questions like, "How many women does Mr. Stark sleep with a week," or "Have you slept with Mr. Stark," or "Can I get a... _personal_ interview?" Now it was "Why was Iron Man in Africa three days ago," "Isn't it irresponsible to have this thing privately owned," and "Have you slept with Mr. Stark?"

The suit made her life frustrating enough that she hired someone to go through the hundreds of messages left in Tony's work e-mail just so she could go home before midnight and get some sleep. The reporters plagued her all the time now, so she took to switching up her schedule as much as possible so she could try to avoid the worst of it.

And then there was Tony. Tony, who had always enjoyed being in the spotlight, or at least around the women the spotlight attracted like moths, who spent days in his workshop but still managed to eat, who slept with 1.7 women a week. That Tony was gone. The new Tony still obsessed about things, still acted perfectly charming when Pepper managed to get him to go anywhere, and still flirted with anything female and attractive.

The new Tony drank weird, green concoctions, seemed to download geopolitical information into his brain, and never brought any women home.

Ever.

He still flirted with her, though. That wasn't anything new. Pepper had long ago realized that the flirting didn't have to mean anything, as Tony could quite happily flirt with her in the afternoon and be in bed with someone else that evening.

It was a sign of how worried she was that Pepper wished he would just screw someone and get it over with, or maybe do a spread in some magazine bare-chested, and every woman would want to get a glimpse of the reactor, and they'd be back up to a routine of 1.7 women a week. She entertained the fantasy that Tony would get bored with saving the world, hand the suit over to the military, and then head down to Acapulco for a few months.

And yet. The new Tony attended meetings with SHIELD without being reminded more than once, had remembered several off-hand comments she'd made recently and inquired about them later, and had actually worked to compromise with the board of directors. (If by 'compromise' she meant 'charm the socks off of them.')

Pepper sighed, flicking through her notes for the next week, wondering if she'd get used to this new Tony.

"Pepper, are you still here?" Tony's voice. Pepper knew he was in the workshop, hopefully coaxing his robots to 'help' him install some sort of retractable ceiling he had been planning for the last three days.

She debated not answering--she _was_ just about to go home, but then sighed and said, "Yes, I'm here."

"You shouldn't be. It's Friday. Come down here."

Pepper almost smiled, got to her feet and started walking, her bare feet padding on the floors.

"Oh, and bring your shoes," Tony said, the intercom flicking off without any explanation.

Pepper arrived downstairs, shoes in hand, to find scaffolding set up under the ceiling, and a pane of glass suspended carefully near it. She could see how the pane--once it was installed--would slide back into the roof and leave enough room for Tony to fly out, as long as he didn't misjudge too much and go crashing through a wall.

Tony slithered through a support and focused on her shoes, a pair of black stiletto peep-toe pumps.

"Yes, this should do," he said, grabbing one and making for a mess of gears and wires on the table. Just before he could shove the heel into it, Pepper grabbed it back.

"Hey!" Tony said. "I was using that--I need to get this bit over here, and I can't reach--"

"Not this pair," she said. "I like this pair. They're new."

Tony didn't even stop, heading for the workbench and casually opening a drawer, tossing out various screwdrivers. "Too long, too short, too thick, too thin--are you sure I can't use the shoes? Oh, never mind. Here's something."

He came back with a stiletto-sized screwdriver, stuck it in without, somehow, touching anything else, and then tapped something gently into place. Taking the screwdriver out, he tossed it to Pepper, who caught it even while she gaped.

"So little faith, Miss Potts?"

Pepper said, "That was _it_?"

Tony scoffed. "As if I would risk your sho--you know what, I would." He considered that for a moment, and then obviously filed it under, "Realizations about myself that I will never think about again."

Pepper recovered. "Is that all you needed? I was just leaving, and--"

"Actually, no. I am attempting to get that" he pointed to the glass, "up there, and those two lunkheads are failing me."

Dummy somehow managed to look sarcastically repentant, while Tony gave her a slight pout that said, "I'm totally helpless without you."

That was how Pepper managed to spend the majority of her Friday night perched on scaffolding in her boss's garage, barefoot, and swearing that she was going to give herself another raise.

Still, she looked up at the completed skylight with a sense of satisfaction, especially when Tony had Jarvis open and close it a few times. It moved _fast_ , whooshing open and then whirring closed. Pepper also thought it was probably bulletproof.

"Tony, why did it need to open so quickly? It takes you longer to put on the suit."

Tony toggled the controls a couple more times. "I'm working on that. Let's get some food."

"Some food" with Tony Stark meant drinking, which might mean waitresses or gambling or Vegas or any number of things. Pepper put her shoes back on, wincing just a little. "I'm going home."

"Nuh uh. I owe you for overtime."

"You're already giving me a bonus," Pepper said, grabbing her suit jacket and picking off a piece of lint. She started to put it on, but Tony nabbed her arm.

"Please?"

Apparently Pepper Potts was no more immune to Tony Stark than the rest of the female population, because she actually waited around for Tony to change his shirt.

And take her to Pizza Hut.

"Seriously?" Pepper asked when they got inside.

Tony ignored her. "Half veggie, half veggie with sausage," he said. "Oh, and a pitcher of beer." The employee--Michael--went to get the beer.

There was practically nobody here--it was way past the dinner hour, and Pepper was surprised the place was even open this late.

Tony handed the guy behind the counter money and took the beer. "Could you get the cups, Pepper?"

Pepper grabbed them and followed Tony into the back of the restaurant, where Tony found the largest booth known to man, dropped himself down, and motioned for the cups.

The evening was turning progressively weirder. Pepper set the cups down and Tony filled them while she slid into the booth. Her feet aches, but at least she wasn't standing anymore.

Tony drank some of his beer, nodded over the rim at the half-hearted attempt at a game room. "We'll play pinball later."

Pepper frowned. "Tony, are you okay?"

"Drink up," Tony said, indicating her cup.

Her frown deepened. "Tony, we're at Pizza Hut."

"Good observation. Yes. We are at Pizza Hut. Having pizza."

"You're drinking Budweiser."

"Is that why it tastes like crap?" Tony remarked, not seeming too worried. At Pepper's continued silence, he said, "I didn't want a cloud of reporters. And I _did_ want pizza."

"We could have ordered in."

Tony grinned. "But then how would we play pinball?" He motioned toward her beer. "Drinks first, though. You cannot play pinball sober."

Pepper rolled her eyes, but she drank. "I'm not playing pinball."

She did. She was pretty good at it, too.

"You're too methodical," Tony complained. He'd lost all three of his plays one after the other, and Pepper was only on her second.

Pepper hit a space that more or less doubled her score. "Hah!"

"You haven't drunk enough," Tony said.

She definitely had. She was feeling very warm, very happy, very not under control. She made a few more spaces at the top light up, and the machine went crazy.

"This is not fair. I protest."

"You're just a sore loser," Pepper taunted. She didn't see Tony slip around behind her, but she did feel when he put his arm under hers to lean on the pinball machine.

"Tony--" she warned, breaking off to keep the ball from dropping off the table.

"Hmmm?" he said, leaning closer. Even over the smells of dough and beer, Pepper could smell him. He smelled amazing.

On the table, she barely managed to keep the ball from dropping, sent it careening wildly to the side. It got trapped, rolled, and fell, completely out of her control.

Annoyed, she said, "Tony, stop cheating."

"Desperate measures."

The machine chugged through the lights, deposited a new ball into the chute. "I already won. By a lot."

"I'll make you lose faster."

"We'll see about--hey!"

Tony had reached around her and put the ball into play. He didn't quite move back, either, and Pepper felt him at her back the entire time the ball bounced around the top of the machine.

"Good luck, Miss Potts," he said, directly into her ear.

Pepper swallowed, tightened her grip on the sides of the machine.

Tony didn't really _do_ anything, just stood behind her. Despite the distraction, Pepper managed to double her score again. She got an extra play, but lost her current ball when she misjudged an angle and got stuck behind a ramp.

Tony let the next ball fly, and Pepper knew immediately that she was going to lose. The ball dropped straight down, and she might have caught it just in time, but Tony exhaled, sending his warm breath over her neck. She shuddered, and she hit the button too late.

Tony tucked a strand of hair behind her ear; let his fingers linger on the skin below her ear.

Pepper suddenly felt very sober. She twisted and started walking for the exit, scooping up her shoes as she went.

Tony wasn't far behind her. The door didn't even have time to close before he was outside. "Pepper, wait."

Pepper didn't, although she didn't know where she was going, either. She picked a direction and started walking down the sidewalk. A few cars passed, but she was oblivious.

"Pepper, the car's--"

"I don't give a shit."

There was a confused pause, and then Tony said, "Why not?"

Pepper rounded on him, poked a finger at him, furious. "Why not? Tony, you were _kidnapped_ \--that's after you nearly died--and then you came back, on your own, and told the whole world you didn't want to make weapons anymore. Which, yes, I understand. But then, you danced with me, and left me, and had me steal documents from your company, and then you told me that I should press that button. And you haven't slept with anyone since!" Pepper stood there, hands balled into fists, eyes blazing.

A car passed by, its lights sweeping over both of them.

Tony said, "So....you're upset I haven't had sex?"

"Yes! No! It's just--you're not at all the same person, Tony. I never know what to expect from you anymore. You took me to _Pizza Hut_ tonight, for god's sake."

Tony still looked a little confused. Pepper threw up her hands and said, "What do you _want_ , Tony? Because I knew what you wanted before--to be bothered as little as possible, to drink as much as possible, and to sleep with beautiful women. But now, you keep making these moves toward me, and I don't know--"

She broke off as another car passed. Tony said nothing, and finally Pepper nodded and turned away, starting down the road again.

She wobbled a little as she stepped on a sharp rock and tried to compensate. She thought that she'd probably have to put her shoes back on and find somewhere open and ask if she could use their phone.

Tony's hand caught her wrist, and turned her toward him.

"I--" he said, but then kissed her instead.

Pepper was fairly sure this wasn't what she'd expected to happen. She was positive she wasn't supposed to let it happen, either.

She kissed back.

A loud honk from another car broke them apart. Tony was looking at her like this was something, and Pepper found herself looking away.

"Jesus, Pepper," he said. "Don't walk away again--we need to, I don't know what."

"Talk," Pepper said.

"Yes, talk. Probably. And then I am going to kiss you again. No, I am going to kiss you now."

He did. A slow sweep of his tongue, and she opened her mouth to him, held onto him as he kissed her outside a Pizza Hut at some ungodly hour of the night. Oh, this was a mistake. Pepper knew that even as Tony pulled her against him. His hands framed her waist, and she spared only one thought about how many other women he'd held like this before she stopped thinking.

The kiss ended slowly. Tony rested his head against her forehead. She felt as if there wasn't anything beyond _here_ , just for a second, before she felt the edges of the arc reactor against her fingers, before Tony caught her hands before she could pull away.

He looked her in the eyes. "Talking later. Let's go home."

Pepper nodded. They started walking back to the parking lot. "You're not putting this off forever, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Pepper stopped. "I'm serious."

Tony looked back. "Are your feet hurting? They must be. Let me help."

He scooped her up into his arms.

"Tony, put me down. Tony?"

"Geez. You don't weigh _anything_. We'll have to have pizza more often."

"I'm definitely giving myself a raise."


End file.
